In a world that is black and white, where a diagnosis often means that the world gives up on a child, Debora Elijah’s centre is a haven of love, hope and support. As a parent of a three year old somewhere ‘on the spectrum’, I feel extremely fortunate to have found Debora and her Early Intervention Centre.
It is often most difficult for children, and especially toddlers, that are on the ‘mild’ end of ASD. Nurseries in the UK are not set up to deal with children with social and communication difficulties and, despite having trained as child educators, they lack the skills to ensure that children reach their full potential.
It is easy to overlook a child with ASD, letting them spend their nursery days in an aimless fashion. It is easy to ‘leave them be’ as long as they seem happy, potentially overlooking that they might be lonely as they are unable to access social groups. Debora never takes the easy route and doesn’t give up. Instead of saying that we will support the child through his or her life, Debora says we will teach the child the necessary social skills that they need
Debora’s centre is a unique offering in the UK. Instead of splitting up the child’s support therapies and at different venues around London with different therapists, Debora’s centre offers everything in one place: social and communication skills, sensory activities, independent skills, OT, speech therapy and Physiotherapy. But apart from all these support services, there is one key difference between Debora’s approach and other professionals that I have encountered: to Debora, the children are not patients or clients. Each of them is a little person brimming with potential. If we can harness that potential, and not give up on children with mild ASD, there is a great chance that these children will become fully functioning members of society.
